Thursday, August 5, 2010

Temple of Heaven (4): The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is the main attraction on this site and even the path leading to it is significant.

This sign explains the Danbi Bridge, which is the oldest overpass in the "ancient capital of Beijing".  It had separate walking areas for people based on social rank.








 



Next you  approach yet another set of gates to pass through and following that a kind of bridge building which would have been guarded, I presume.

The detail and color of all of these buildings is repeated throughout the site.  They have been restored to their originally intended color, which is much brighter than you might expect.  Much like when the Sistine chapel was restored and everyone thought it was too bright, despite records showing that those were the original colors.








Now, finally we get our first glimpse of the Circular structure of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.  It is set an a circular marble structure, much like the altar mound, and the building is much larger in size than the Imperial Vault.






















One is not allowed inside, but if you worm and crush your way into the front you can snap a picture over the heads of the other tourists.  I'm very tenacious ;)

More to come...

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